USA ended a disappointing Copa America campaign after a 1-0 loss to Uruguay in their final match of the group stage.
USA were without their star winger Tim Weah who was suspended for the match following a red card against Panama. Florian Balogun had an early chance to put the USA ahead but his effort was saved by Uruguay’s goalkeeper.
Balogun was subbed off late in the first half after multiple hard collisions and Ricardo Pepi was brought on to replace the AS Monaco striker.
The physical approach of both sides continued in the second half as both sides made some hard challenges. The deadlock was broken in the 66th minute of the game when Turner saved Ronald Araújo’s beautifully placed header only for center-back Olivera to slot home from the rebound.
The USA did have a chance to equalize when Christian Pulisic saw the goalkeeper off his line but the former Chelsea winger failed to convert. Despite using right to the end, the USA ended up with a 1-0 defeat.
With this win, USMNT have been eliminated from the Copa America 2024 finishing on 3 points from 3 matches.
They got off to a decent start in their home tournament winning 2-0 against Bolivia. But defeats to Panama and Uruguay mean the Star and the Stripes fail to reach the quarterfinal of the Copa America 2024.
“I mean, now it’s just about getting a little bit of rest and regrouping and finding an identity again, and we have some big things ahead,” Pulisic said after the game. “We’re going to look forward to that.”
On the other hand, Uruguay ended up as winners of Group C and could potentially face Brazil in the quarter-final.
What Next For Gregg Berhalter?
After USA’s elimination from Copa America, the line of inevitable questions followed. After the defeat against Uruguay, the USA Men’s coach was asked if he was the right man for the job to which he replied “Yes”.
“We’re going to do a review of the whole tournament and then see where we fell short,” Berhalter said. “It’s obvious that the Panama game hurt us, put us behind the eight ball. I think collectively the staff, the players, the sporting department, we need to look at where do we improve, how do we do better.”
Berhalter led USMNT to FIFA World Cup qualification in 2022 and qualified for the Round of 16 stage in Qatar. But a miserable home Copa America has put the 50-year-old’s future in doubt.
USA’s next assignment will be two friendlies against Canada and New Zealand in September and it remains to be seen whether Gregg Berhalter will still be at USMNT’s helm or not.
The USA’s next major tournament is the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
